Dissonance
by SkyGem
Summary: When Reborn is sent to Japan to train Sawada Masako to be Vongola Decima, he is surprised to find Sawada Tsunayoshi instead, a struggling young trans man trying not to drown in a world where no one takes him seriously. And suddenly, Reborn finds he is not only a tutor, but also a parental figure to his new young student. Vignette series. No pairings. Warning for misgendering.
1. Target 1: That Guy From Italy

Summary: When Reborn is sent to Japan to train Sawada Masako to be Vongola Decima, he is surprised to find Sawada Tsunayoshi instead, a struggling young trans man trying not to drown in a world where no one takes him seriously. And suddenly, Reborn finds he is not only a tutor, but also a parental figure to his new young student. Vignette series. No pairings. Character-driven.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.

Disclaimer: I am not a transgender/transsexual individual and do not in any way claim to be an expert on this subject. I have done research in order to make this as accurate as possible given the characters and the world in which they inhabit. That said, I am human and prone to making mistakes. If you notice I have made a mistake, please do let me know and I will do my very best to fix it.

* * *

"It's Reborn...looks like you were called by the old man again," said a voice from in front of him, and Reborn didn't have to look up from cleaning his gun to know that it belonged to one of the regulars of the bar he was currently in.

"Must be tough being popular," added a new voice. "Going to Rome next? Venice?"

Reborn was silent a moment before saying a curt, "Japan."

As soon as he said this, a hush fell over the entire bar and the tension in the air skyrocketed.

"What!?" demanded one person. "So the old man finally made up his mind!"

And with this one exclamation, the ice seemed to have broken, as the rest of the bar's occupants started murmuring amongst themselves and taking out cell phones to spread the message.

Within seconds, the entire mafia would know that the Vongola had found another heir.

And that was just what Reborn had wanted; it was the reason he'd chosen this particular bar, whose clientele was made up of the most talkative and most well-connected of the mafia.

It was finally time to put to rest the rumours that the Vongola's bloody reign was coming to an end with the deaths of the Nono's sons.

Standing up, the infant smirked triumphantly as he exited the bar.

"Looks like it's going to be a long journey."

* * *

"Ciaossu!"

Silence reigned in the bedroom as both of its other occupants looked down at Reborn.

Taking advantage of the silence, the hitman took a moment to study his new charge, and he couldn't help but let out an internal sigh.

At first glance, it became immediately apparent that Iemitsu knew absolutely nothing about his child.

Reborn had often wondered if Nono had had a momentary lapse in judgement when he had made Iemitsu the External Adviser of the Vongola, but now he was sure of it.

Everything from the way the youngest Sawada held himself to the way he dressed and even his hair showed that he was obviously a male, and not just, in his father's own words "a bit of a tomboy."

Upon finishing his initial assessment of his new student, Reborn broke the silence by stating, "I arrived three hours early but as a service, I'll evaluate you now."

Seeming to snap out of her daze, Nana asked in a concerned voice, "Hey...whose kid are you?"

"Hm?" replied Reborn, a slight smile on his face. "I'm Reborn, the home tutor."

"Oh!" exclaimed Nana, her hands flying to her mouth.

Her son, on the other hand, let out a snort which soon turned into full out laughter.

"I was wondering what sort of person created that bullshit flier. It's this baby!?"

Ignoring Nana's quiet "Oh my", Reborn turned his attention to his charge.

"So you're Tsuna," he said, and the boy immediately stopped laughing in order to stare at Reborn disbelievingly, his eyes narrowing a bit.

Reborn was a little perplexed at this reaction until Nana interrupted, saying in slightly stiff voice, "I'm sorry, Reborn-kun, but I think you're mistaken. My _**daughter's**_ name is Masako."

Tsuna flinched almost imperceptibly at his mother's words, and Reborn immediately realized why the boy had been so surprised at being addressed as Tsuna.

Now, the brunette was looking at him, waiting for his reaction, and Reborn knew that his next words would have to be chosen wisely, for they would most probably dictate how well his relationship with the youngest Sawada would go.

Looking up at Nana, Reborn took a step towards her, causing her to back up a little.

"I'm sorry, Sawada-san," he said, gently herding her towards the door, "but at this moment I will have to ask you to give my new student and I some privacy. _Tsunayoshi_ and I have quite a bit to discuss."

Closing the door behind her, Reborn waited until he heard the sound of retreating footsteps before turning back to Tsuna, whose eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Stop gaping and sit down," ordered Reborn. "We have a lot to talk about."

Tsuna seemed unsure for a moment whether to follow the orders but in the end, he sat down.

"In order for me to come up with an effective lesson plan for you, I need you to answer my following questions truthfully."

Tsuna was quiet for a moment, seeming thoughtful, before asking, "I'm sorry, but who exactly are you and what are you going to be teaching me? Because there's no way you're a normal baby so..."

Reborn, though annoyed that he had been interrupted, decided to let Tsuna off the hook just this one time because he had a valid question – it was good for a future mafia Don to be wary of strangers.

"My true line of work is assassination," answered the infant, "And my real job is to make you a mafia boss."

Tsuna's eyes widened in alarm when he heard this.

"WHAT?" he demanded, his voice sounding panicky. "But why me? I don't even know anything about the mafia! There has to be someone more qualified!"

"There isn't," replied Reborn. "All three of the current boss's sons were killed and therefore you are the only remaining heir."

"But I'm completely useless!" protested Tsuna. "I don't even know how to get people to call me by the right name and you want me to take over a mafia family?"

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Reborn delivered a swift kick to the gut of his student, leaving him wheezing.

"Don't insult yourself. It is unseemly for a mafia Don and will lead to other Families taking advantage of you and will ruin our reputation."

Tsuna looked like he was about to argue, but didn't say anything; probably for fear of being hit again.

"Good," said Reborn, nodding in approval of the silence. "Now I'm assuming by your mother's reaction that you're not currently on testosterone."

Tsuna nodded mutely.

"Do you want to be?"

Tsuna's eyes widened at this, before he said a breathless, "Of course!"

Nodding, Reborn said, "Okay. Tomorrow, you will come with me to see your new doctor. He will be giving you all the information you need about hormone therapy, and if you decide you still want to go ahead with it, you will have to start meeting up with him regularly."

His brows furrowing a bit, Tsuna opened his mouth, as if he were about to ask a question, but Reborn beat him to it.

"The doctor works for the Vongola, the family you are now the heir of, so you don't have to worry about bills. In return, I will train you for your position as Vongola the Tenth up until the day of your Inheritance ceremony, on which you will have the choice to accept or refuse your new position. If you refuse, you will, at that point, have to find yourself another doctor, but will not have to pay back the Vongola. If you accept, you will become the official head of the Family and will start studying under the Ninth, who will teach you all the things only the head of the Family is privy to."

Tsuna was quiet for quite a while after this, deliberating, before he finally asked, "What will happen to you after the Inheritance ceremony?"

"I am currently Vongola Nono's most trusted assassin and a close advisor to him. If you accept your position, it is up to you whether I continue to be so or not."

Nodding thoughtfully, Tsuna let out a sigh of resignation, saying, "Fine. I'll go along with this. Bunt ONLY until the Inheritance ceremony."

Reborn nodded his approval.

"When is the ceremony, anyways?"

"On your eighteenth birthday."

"HIIEEEE! BUT THAT'S FOUR YEARS AWAY!"

* * *

SkyGem: Well, that's our little intro. I hope you enjoyed it! This fic will be largely from Tsuna's and Reborn's points of view with some other characters thrown in occasionally. It will focus mostly on Reborn helping further Tsuna's transition and also on Tsuna's relationships with others, most particularly his guardians, Reborn, and his doctor (whom I'm sure you've all already guessed the identity of). If there are any issues any of you would like me to address, by all means, let me know! And if there are any lgbtq+ individuals in my audience, I would love to hear about your experiences, if you feel comfortable sharing them. Just shoot me a message, eh?


	2. Target 2: Dinner is Served

SkyGem: Hello all! Okay so I really dislike long authors notes at the beginning of chapters, but I'll have to make one this time. First of all, to all those who are confused, "trans man" refers to a female-to-male transsexual, one who was born female/assigned female at birth, but sees themselves as male, and that is what Tsuna is.

And to those who think that the first chapter was rushed, you are absolutely right, and the only thing I have to say to that is that I'm sorry. I was originally planning on making this a one-shot, and I didn't want that scene to drag on too long, which is why I took some liberties. But I eventually realized that I had way too many ideas for this verse and decided to just expand it into a vignette series. I'll eventually go back and edit the first chapter to make it a bit more realistic. Sorry for that!

Anyways, this is getting a bit too long so I'll start the chapter now, but I do have replies to the anonymous reviewers **Kinda Disappoint** and **A happy guy** at the end of the chapter!

* * *

After Tsuna had resigned himself to the fact that he would be stuck with Reborn for the next four years (if he even survived that long), the student and his tutor had a rather long discussion which mostly consisted of Reborn asking increasingly invasive questions and Tsuna trying his very best not to give in to the temptation to scream.

Finally, after an hour of this, Tsuna was saved by his mother's call to dinner.

Looking at the hitman hopefully, Tsuna jumped for joy when the infant gave a short nod of the head and said, "We'll leave it at this for now. After dinner we will think of something to do with about your grades."

Despite the shiver of fear that crawled up his spine at those words, Tsuna nodded and ran out of the room, thankful that he was finally free of the never ending questions.

Dinner at the Sawada household was usually a quiet affair, both mother and son having found out years ago that normal dinner time conversation never really ended well with them, with Nana stubbornly referring to her son by his birth name and Tsuna correcting her whenever he could and trying not to lose his temper with one of the perhaps two people in the entire world that he truly cared for.

On this day, dinner was even quieter than usual, a palpable tension hanging in the air between Nana and Reborn, with poor Tsuna caught in the middle.

What little conversation there was was stilted and as soon as they had all finished eating, Nana said, "Masako-chan, can you please clear the table?"

"Hai, okaa-san," replied Tsuna quietly, getting up to follow her orders.

Nana then turned to Reborn, who was still sitting at the table.

"Reborn-san, I've been re-considering your offer for the past few hours, and I'm sorry to inform you but I don't think this arrangement will work out."

When he heard this, Tsuna stopped mid-step, his eyes going wide at his mother's words. He hadn't realized just how strongly his mother felt on the subject of his gender.

Reborn, however, wasn't the type to give up so easily, saying, "I'm very sorry you feel that way, Nana-san, but the contract has already been signed. I will be Tsunayoshi's tutor for the next four years, and there is nothing you or I can do about it."

Her brows furrowing in confusion, Nana replied, "I don't remember signing any contracts."

"You didn't," replied Reborn, his gaze steady. "Your husband did."

Nana's eyes widened in shock when she heard this, but before she could say anything, the two of them were interrupted by a loud crash from the direction of the kitchen.

Tsuna had dropped the plates he'd been holding, and his eyes were wide and confused.

"Dad's alive?" he asked, looking between his mom, who was wearing a guilty expression, and Reborn, who had narrowed his eyes.

"Of course," replied the hitman, whose impression of his student's parents just kept dropping. He'd never really cared what excuse Iemitsu had told his family about where he always was, but the fact that his son thought he was dead showed that it was a terrible one. "Now clean up that mess, then meet me in your room. It seems we have even more to talk about than I thought."

Tsuna looked as if he were about to argue, but one glare from Reborn convinced him to do as he was told.

"How do you know my husband?" asked Nana, starting to sound suspicious.

"We work for the same man," replied Reborn shortly, and Nana's expression grew even more suspicious.

"My husband is in charge of traffic at construction sites. Why on Earth would he have the same boss as you?"

Reborn was silent for a moment, incredulous at the stupid cover story Iemitsu had come up with before replying, "The man that owns the construction sites your husband works at is a very successful businessman who has many kinds of people working under him."

Nana's expression cleared a bit, obviously believing what Reborn had said, but she became no more friendly.

"If you have any problems with me, I suggest you take them up with your husband," said Reborn, and before she had the chance to reply, he'd already gotten out of his seat and was on his way up to Tsuna's room.

On the way, he passed Tsuna, who was using a wet mop to pick up the last few shards of the plate he'd broken and who had been listening closely to the conversation Nana and Reborn had been having.

Judging by his dumbfounded expression, he had probably already worked out that his father hadn't been entirely truthful with his mother when he'd told her what he did for a living.

Hurrying to finish cleaning up, Tsuna ran some water over the mop to get the shards out before putting it away and hurrying to follow Reborn back to his bedroom.

Once the bedroom door had closed behind him, Tsuna let out a long, slightly shaky breath, and threw himself onto his bed, wrapping his blanket around him.

Reborn watched him silently for a moment, feeling almost sorry for the teen – he'd had a long day, what with finding out that he was the heir to a mafia family and that, not only was his father not dead, he was a part of the same mafia family he'd just inherited.

"Why does the world hate me, Reborn?" asked the young Decimo, his voice muffled by the blanket he had cocooned himself in.

Reborn didn't reply, and without even waiting for a response, Tsuna continued.

"Why did I have to be born in a female body? Why do my classmates have to bully me? Why can't my mom understand that I never have been and never will be the little girl she'd always wanted? Why didn't my dad love us enough to tell us the truth or to visit us more often? Why...?"

The brunet trailed off, running out of questions to ask, and Reborn let out a sigh as he took a seat on the edge of his student's bed, his legs dangling over the edge, unable to reach the floor, a reminder of the curse that hung over him.

"The world hates everyone, Dame-Tsuna. Or hadn't you figured that out already? Humans are messed up and disgusting and pick on anyone weaker than themselves. They fear and despise whatever is different from them without even making an attempt to first understand. And the only way to survive in a world like that is to get stronger. And in order to make others take you seriously, you first have to learn how to be comfortable in your own skin."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" asked Tsuna, popping his head out of his cocoon, his brows furrowed.

"By doing what I tell you," replied Reborn with a smirk.

Rolling his eyes, Tsuna let his head fall back onto his pillow and turned onto his back so that he could stare at the ceiling.

The silence stretched out between them for almost two minutes, each of them thinking on different things, before finally, Tsuna said, "Ne, Reborn?"

"Yes, Dame-Tsuna?"

"How did you know to address me as Tsuna instead of Masako?"

Tsuna had propped himself up on his elbow and was now staring at Reborn curiously.

"Your father," was the short reply, but when the younger male kept looking at his tutor curiously, he elaborated. "Before coming to Japan to teach you, I researched everything I could about you, of course. A hitman never goes into a situation uninformed. Your father was my first...source. Not that he was any good, of course. Everything he knew about you was secondhand information he learned from your mother."

"And we all know how accurate that is," replied Tsuna with an eye-roll.

"Exactly," said Reborn. "He warned me that you were going through a 'phase' and that you had even picked out a male name for yourself, in order to 'be more like daddy'."

Reborn's face twisted into a grimace as he quoted his air headed colleague, as if he detested having to say the word 'daddy'."

Tsuna also grimaced because, apparently, his father hadn't changed a bit since they'd last seen each other. He still seemed to be under the delusion that Tsuna looked up to him – as if there was anything to look up to in the first place. Tsuna barely knew anything about the man.

"Of course, even just listening to him, it was obvious he had no idea what he was talking about," continued Reborn. "Nobody would be as thorough as you were in picking a name if they didn't plan to use that name for a long time afterwards."

Tsuna ducked his head shyly as he realized that Reborn actually seemed...kind of impressed. Despite having only known the infant for a few hours, Tsuna knew that was something that didn't happen very often.

Shrugging, Tsuna said, "Well, it seemed like a pretty obvious choice. I mean, dad and grandpa Ietsuna were both named after Tokugawa Shoguns, and even I was named after Tokugawa Iemitsu's sister. It only made sense to name myself Tsunayoshi, after Tokugawa Iemitsu's son."

Reborn nodded in approval. "Names carry power, Dame-Tsuna. You did well in choosing one that actually meant something."

Feeling a blush spread across his cheeks and neck, Tsuna pulled his blanket back over his head to hide just how pleased he was about the compliment.

"Thanks."

* * *

Later that night, when both Tsuna and Nana were asleep, Reborn received a phone call.

When the call came, Reborn was not at all surprised.

He'd been expecting it since dinner.

So as Iemitsu ranted and raved at him for taking advantage of his _daughter's _silly little _phase_ by trying to coax _her_ into something that _she _would one day regret, the infant sat quietly through it all, formulating his response.

And as soon as Iemitsu was done his rant, Reborn said, in a voice colder than ice, "I am _**not**_ coaxing _Tsunayoshi_ into anything. I am merely treating _him_ like a human being. And tomorrow I am going to take _him_ to a doctor who will give _him_ all the information _he_ needs to make a responsible decision regarding _his_ body. Which is more than _some_ of us have done."

Iemitsu spluttered indignantly at this, saying, "You will absolutely _**NOT**_ be taking my daughter to that perverted doctor!"

"That "perverted doctor" is one of the best in the world and Tsuna will be seeing him for a check-up that is long overdue. My job is to turn Tsunayoshi into someone who is able to command the respect of thousands of hardened mafioso, and in order to do that, he must first learn how to feel comfortable in his own skin – something which can not be done if he is still confined to the mold you and your wife have created for him. I have not once failed a job given to me by Nono, and I do not intend on starting now, Iemitsu. So be warned that if you try and interfere again, you will certainly _not_ like the consequences."

* * *

SkyGem: Ta-da! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! As a lot of my regular readers will know, I really do not like Iemitsu at all so any day when I can put him in his place in one of my fics is a good day for me XD Anyways, please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Now, the review replies:

**Kinda Disappoint: **I'm sorry I didn't give an OOC warning at the beginning, love, but I just kinda assumed that everyone would realize that, given this _is_ an AU, there would be OOCness. One's character develops based on the experiences they've had in their lives and, considering that this is a story about a transgender Tsuna, it should be kind of obvious that he would be different. The canon Tsuna was bullied, yes, but I doubt it was to the extent that a trans!Tsuna would have been bullied. My understanding of Reborn's character is that, in the manga, he took the tough love approach because he knew that nothing else would work on his carefree, lazy, unmotivated student. In this fic, Reborn (being the amazing tutor that he is) has realized that he will get more results from Tsuna if he gives him the respect he wants and that is why I have portrayed him differently. Got it?

**A happy guy: **I'm so glad you're enjoying my fic! Like I said in my AN at the beginning of this chapter, I know that the first chapter was pretty rushed and that was originally due to the fact that this was supposed to be a one-shot and I didn't want the scene to drag on too long. I will definitely go back and fix it a bit later and will keep your suggestions in mind! As for Tsuna being a bit more closed off, that is true, but if you think about it, it would make sense for him to be a bit more willing to accept Reborn's flaws and be more open with him because yeah, Reborn is a total jerk, but he is also the first person to actually address Tsuna by his preferred name and to use the right pronouns for him (as far as you all know), and I feel like that would be a really big deal for a kid whose own parents don't even do that for him. As the story progresses though, you will see that Tsuna is indeed more closed off with others.


	3. Target 3: REBORN!

SkyGem: Hey all! I'm so so sorry for letting this go so long without an update, sweeties. I'll try not to let it happen again! I know this fic means a lot to some people, and it means a lot to me too. So I promise you guys, I won't ever drop this, okay? Okay. Now let's move on to the chapter! I really hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

When Tsuna was forced awake at the damn ungodly hour of five in the morning, a full two hours earlier than he was used to, he was understandably very disoriented.

It didn't help either that his newly found tutor had chosen to wake him up by putting a pair of headphones on him, and blasting heavy metal.

Ever the prepared little bastard, Reborn had also gagged Tsuna, so that his startled "HIEEEEE!" wouldn't wake up the entire neighbourhood.

When he had finally managed to stop flailing and untangle his limbs from his blanket, Tsuna yanked the headphones off.

Quickly removing the gag as well, he turned a fierce glare on Reborn, who was sitting peacefully on his bedpost with a hot cup of coffee, watching the show with an amused smile on his face.

"Good morning, Tsunayoshi," he said pleasantly, his tone so completely at odds with the hate being directed at him by his student.

"What the _hell_ was that for?" demanded Tsuna in a whisper-yell, trying not to wake up his mother in the room next door.

"It's time to wake up," replied Reborn in a matter-of-fact voice, continuing to calmly drink his coffee.

"Then why didn't you just wake me up like a **normal person**?"

Reborn's eyebrows drew into a frown.

"That's not nearly as fu-ahem. Not nearly as effective."

Tsuna narrowed his eyes. "You were about to say 'fun'."

Reborn, in turn, completely disregarded his student's comment in favor of taking another sip of coffee.

Rolling his eyes, Tsuna decided that this conversation really was not worth it, considering there was no way he would win.

Suddenly, the fact that it was still dark outside seemed to register in his mind, and he turned to the clock on his bedside table.

_5:06 am._

Tsuna stared.

Blinked a few times.

Stared some more.

"_What the hell did you wake me up at 5 for?"_ he demanded, turning back to glare at Reborn, who had just taken his last sip of coffee.

"We have a lot to do," replied Reborn, jumping down from his seat and onto the floor.

He met Tsuna's gaze then, and that was how the teen knew that the next few hours would be...eventful, for lack of a better word.

* * *

At 6:45 am, after more than an hour and a half of confusion and embarrassment and struggling and even, admittedly, a few tears, Tsuna found himself standing in front of the full-length mirror on his bedroom door.

He stared for a long time at himself, unable to believe what he was seeing in front of him.

At fourteen, Tsuna was what would be considered a "late bloomer".

He had only just started to go through puberty and was therefore not very shapely, which was at east one thing he had to be thankful for.

His (admittedly rather small) breasts had been flattened to nothing with the chest binder Reborn had handed him as he had gotten out of the shower – a surprisingly comfortable garment styled to look like a normal tank top.

And rather than the girls' underwear his mother always insisted on buying him, he was wearing a pair of boxers that Reborn had given him along with the binder.

These two, small things conspired in a wonderful way so that the person staring back at Tsuna was male.

He was admittedly very feminine, to be sure.

But he was male.

And for once in his life, Tsuna felt he almost recognized his reflection.

Reborn, standing beside his student, had the ghost of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

He was quiet a moment, allowing his student to take it all in, before holding up the bag he had in his hand.

"Put these on, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna looked down, a frown on his face, a bit weirded out by the nickname, which was both familiar and unfamiliar at once.

His classmates often called him Dame-Masako, which he hated to no end.

But he found that, coming from Reborn, it wasn't nearly as offensive.

Partly because he made the effort to actually call him Tsuna.

And partly because Tsuna knew that the hitman didn't mean anything malicious by it.

Looking into the bag that Reborn had just handed him, Tsuna felt his eyebrows draw into a confused frown.

"Aren't I going to school today?" he asked as he obediently took out the jeans and shirt inside the bag.

Reborn smirked in reply.

"Of course you are."

* * *

Hibari Kyoya was doing his usual, early morning patrols before school when he happened upon something decidedly un-ordinary.

When he got to the school gates, there was already a student waiting there, dressed in casual clothes.

Kyoya had to stare for a moment in order to recognize who it was.

Sawada Masako was _loitering_ on school grounds.

And the reason Kyoya hadn't recognized her was because her usually messy brown locks were tied back into a neat braid, and, of course, because she was dressed as a guy.

Feeling somewhat intrigued despite himself, Kyoya stepped forward.

"Loitering on school grounds is against the rules, herbivore," he intoned, enjoying the way Sawada flinched upon hearing his voice.

"H-Hibari-senpai!" she gasped, turning to look at him. "I-I wasn't loitering at all!" she was quick to say.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her.

"I was waiting for you!" she continued, and Kyoya's other eyebrow went up.

The only people who ever waited for him were people with death wishes.

Masako, seeming to have sensed what he was thinking, took an unsure step backwards, looking as if she were about to bolt.

But she completely froze in her tracks when a squeaky voice said, "Stand your ground, Dame-Tsuna. And explain to him why you're here."

Kyoya's head snapped around as he looked for the source of the voice, but was unable to find it.

The sound of Sawada clearing her throat caught Kyoya's attention, and when he turned back, he saw a determined expression on her face.

"Hibari-senpai. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. And I would like your permission to attend school in a male uniform."

Kyoya's eyes widened slightly, and he perked up.

Now this was an interesting turn.

Taking a step closer to the small animal, he asked, "Why?"

Sawada gulped nervously, but stood his ground.

"Because I am male," he replied.

Taking another step forward, Kyoya brandished his favored tonfas.

"Prove it," he replied.

Sawada's eyes widened, and he stumbled backwards a bit.

"Don't run away, Dame-Tsuna," said the same voice as before. "You need to stay and fight. So die."

And then, before he could do anything, a bullet whizzed right past just inches from Kyoya's face, and lodged itself into Sawada's forehead.

Kyoya watched, eyes wide, as the brunet's body fell to the ground.

Kyoya watched as a Nami-Chuu student died, right in front of him.

And the prefect felt an all-consuming rage well up within him.

Someone had _dared_ to kill one of his herbivores.

_**NO ONE**_ was allowed to harm his herbivores except for the Disciplinary Committee.

He was about to turn on whoever had committed such a heinous crime.

But before he could, an impossible thing happened.

As soon as Sawada's body hit the ground, he sprung back up, almost completely naked save for his boxers and what seemed to be a tank top.

"REBORN!"

* * *

SkyGem: Whoo! Chapter three done! And we finally get to see one of Tsuna's guardians! Yay! Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ciao!


	4. Target 4: The Doctor's Student

Four minutes into their fight, Hibari Kyoya was surprised to find he was enjoying himself immensely. Sawada was far from a talented fighter – his attacks were wildly uncoordinated and he had no technique, but he had endless stamina, inhuman strength, and a flexibility that allowed him to use their surroundings to his advantage. Kyoya knew Sawada wouldn't be able to keep up this erratic fighting style for much longer, but at least he was more entertaining than the delinquents Kyoya usually had to amuse himself with.

About a minute later, just as Kyoya was about to land the finishing blow, his prediction came true, and Sawada stumbled to a halt, the flame on his forehead fizzling out.

Sensing that the fight was over, Kyoya straightened out of his stance with a put upon sigh, watching as Sawada turned his head this way and that, surveying his surroundings with wide, confused eyes, as if he had just come out of a trance.

Finally, his gaze came to rest on Kyoya, and as his eyes widened in horror and fear, Kyoya clucked his tongue once, coming to a decision.

"Follow me, herbivore," he ordered, turning and heading towards the school gates without pausing to make sure Sawada followed.

After a moment, there was the sound of scampering footsteps as Sawada fell into step behind him. There were a few moments of tense silence then, before Kyoya broke it.

"Is that a chest binder?" he asked, disapproval colouring his tone.

"No," replied a squeaky new voice, and Kyoya forced himself not to react violently, instead casting his eyes down to the infant now walking beside him.

"Reborn!" cried Sawada's surprised voice from behind him.

Kyoya's eyebrows raised slightly, and the word _arcobaleno_ arose in his mind.

And suddenly, all the puzzle pieces fell into place. For whatever reason, this infant had taken Sawada under his wing, and it would be in Kyoya's best interests not to get in his way. Especially if it meant the infant was teaching Sawada how to fight. There was the promise of a worthy sparring partner in his near future.

"It's a compression shirt," said Reborn. "Made especially for athletes. Until the Vongola technicians have finished developing a binder he can safely fight in, he won't be wearing one unless we're certain he won't be put in a situation where he will have to fight."

Kyoya nodded, satisfied that Reborn was properly educated in this issue, and that a Nami-chuu student wouldn't accidentally hurt himself due to negligence.

By now, the three of them had reached the reception room, the Disciplinary committee's base of operations.

Kyoya headed straight for his desk and sat down, reaching for a piece of lined paper.

"Get dressed," he ordered Sawada, nodding towards the closet in the back corner over the room where the committee always kept extra uniforms, for when their own got dirty or torn during fights.

As if only just realizing that he was half-naked, Sawada startled, and scurried to the closet.

Kyoya turned back to the note he had begun writing, and didn't even look up when Reborn hopped onto his desk.

"You're being rather helpful," observed Reborn, a note of questioning in his voice.

Kyoya kept writing.

"The Hibari family values all kinds of strength," he said as he continued writing. "Standing up for one's beliefs is a kind of strength."

Reborn hummed in approval, but didn't say anything else.

Finishing the note he was writing, Kyoya looked up, and when his gaze landed on Sawada, his expression became disapproving.

Sawada had finished putting on one of the boys' uniforms, fidgeting with his tie and tugging self-consciously at his cuffs.

When he noticed Kyoya's glare directed at him, he began blabbering.

"The-there weren't any skir-"

"Your uniform is incomplete, herbivore," Kyoya said, interrupting him, and Sawada's expression morphed from fear to shock to relief to confusion.

"There aren't any blazers," he said.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, and Sawada's face paled.

"Y-you want me to wear a gakuran? B-but that's the disciplinary committee's…"

Kyoya kept staring.

"B-but they have the armbands…"

Still, Kyoya stared, and finally, Sawada got the message and turned to grab a gakuran, gingerly putting it on.

When he turned back to face them, Kyoya nodded in approval and handed him the note. "This letter is proof that you have permission from the disciplinary committee to attend school in a male uniform."

Tsuna took the paper in careful hands, as if it would crumble to dust any second now, his eyes wide in shock.

"Until your name has been changed in the family registry, no one can be made to call you anything but your given name," warned Kyoya, keeping eye contact with Sawada. "So it's up to you to convince them to call you by your chosen name, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Sawada's eyes widened, as if startled that Kyoya had remembered his name, but then he nodded, and stood straighter, squaring his shoulders.

Bowing deeply, he said, "thank you very much, Hibari-sempai!" before straightening and running out of the room.

Kyoya watched him go, expecting Reborn to leave as well, but he just stayed in his place on Kyoya's desk, staring after his student.

"There's more to it," he said finally, not taking his eyes off the doorway Sawada had left through as he continued their earlier conversation.

Kyoya watched Reborn out of the corner of his eye for a moment before shrugging and saying, "The Hibari family has also been involved with the lgbt community for a long time. Since before our ancestors moved here from Italy."

Reborn nodded, as if beginning to understand, and after a moment's thought, Kyoya added, "My uncle Fon is genderfluid."

Reborn's gaze immediately focused on him, and Kyoya made eye contact, noticing the understanding glinting in the infant's eyes, and feeling smug when he noticed the grudging approval there too.

Reborn nodded in acknowledgement then, accepting his answer, before hopping off Kyoya's desk and leaving the reception room, presumably to look for his student.

* * *

"Stop slouching, Hayato."

Looking up from the game of angry birds he had open on his phone, Gokudera Hayato glared at his tutor/guardian/perverted doctor sitting across the aisle, who hadn't even looked up from the file he was reading.

Sliding down further in his seat so his ass was at the very edge of the chair, Hayato huffed moodily and replied, "fuck off," before turning back to his game.

He was on a godforsaken plane, on his way to some backwater town in Japan, leaving behind his perfectly good life in Italy, just because stupid Reborn's stupid, spoiled mafia prince of a student just _had_ to have his own personal doctor just in case his stupid, princely self caught a cold or something.

So if Hayato wanted to slouch in his seat or eat nothing but ice cream on the way there or design a super powerful bomb that could wipe out the entire nation of Japan, he should damn well be allowed to.

But _noooo_, stupid Shamal wanted him to _'stop slouching' _and _'don't blow up Japan'_ and _'at least try to get along with the young Vongola, I'm sure the two of you will have a lot in common.'_

As if Hayato, who'd had to fight tooth and nail all his life in order to prove he was good enough, to prove he was **worth something**, could have anything in common with the heir of Timoteo Vongola, who had probably grown up in the lap of luxury, who had probably never had to work a day in his life.

…Right?

* * *

SkyGem: That's it for this chapter! I really hope you guys enjoyed, and please do leave a review letting me know what you thought! Special thanks to reviewer **CozyCoffin** for giving me a heads up about the binders, and for anon reviewer **D** for letting me know about the hormones! Y'all are the best! If there's any information you think I should know about transitioning or the trans community, please don't hesitate to share! Any little thing could help and I would really appreciate it, since some of these things I wouldn't even think to consider, like with the thing about how doing strenuous activities in binders can be dangerous. You guys are what's helping me make this fic as realistic as possible and I love you all for it! Anyways, bye bye for now, and I'll see you all next time!

P.S. I really don't like how rushed this chapter came out, but I wanted you all to be able to read it tonight, so I posted it anyways. I'll go back and edit it tomorrow, 'kay?


	5. Target 5: Of Hitmen and Loyalties

They'd been in their new house for all of two hours when Reborn and his student came knocking.

The living room and kitchen were still a mess of boxes, and Hayato was currently in the room that was to serve as Shamal's home office, which his guardian had decided _had to_ be the absolute first thing to be set up.

Perking up as the sound of the doorbell rang throughout the house, Shamal met Hayato's gaze.

"That's probably Reborn and Tsunayoshi-kun," he said. "Mind getting that for me, brat?"

Hayato's brows furrowed slightly as he looked up from the books he'd just finished arranging on the bookshelf. "Why the hell should I get it, old man?" he asked, crossing his arms stubbornly. "They're _your_ guests!"

Shamal raised an eyebrow. "I need to go over Tsunayoshi's file one more time; and I'm sure that being greeted by someone else his age will help him relax so he doesn't get too worked up before our meeting."

Hayato glared at the doctor, not liking his answer, but at Shamal's insistent expression, he got up with a huff and left the room.

Already, the young Vongola's life was taking priority over their own, and Hayato was unhappy, to say the least.

Clomping down the stairs moodily, Hayato threw open the front door and glared at the first person his eyes landed on. He was puny, the brunet standing on their porch, and his features delicate and effeminate; exactly the kind of man girls loved.

Hayato hated him instantly.

He was still dressed in his school uniform – black slacks and a gakuran too big for his tiny frame – and he flinched away the moment he met eyes with Hayato, whose impression of the Vongola heir was plunging to lower depths every second he was in his presence.

The boy stuttered for a few moments, hands going up to tug at a strand of chestnut hair and seeming uncommonly surprised at what they found.

Before Hayato could spit scathing words at the coward on his doorstep, an infant appeared on the other boy's shoulder, slapping his hand away from his hair and giving him a pointed look.

The boy immediately dropped his hand.

Turning those coal black eyes back on Hayato, the corners of Reborn's mouth pulled up into a smirk.

"Gokudera Hayato," he acknowledged with a nod, and Hayato hastened to bow respectfully to him.

"Reborn-san," he greeted. Even if he had a bone to pick with his student, Hayato had nothing but the utmost respect for Reborn. "Please, come inside."

Stepping aside to let the hitman and his student enter, Reborn moved to close the door behind them, not bothering to follow them upstairs, knowing already that Shamal wouldn't allow him to sit in on the meeting.

Something about patient confidentiality.

The stupid doctor really did choose the strangest things to be a stickler about.

Standing there in the foyer, Hayato glared holes into Sawada Tsunayoshi's back right up until he and Reborn rounded the corner, and were greeted with Shamal's faint voice.

Rolling his eyes once more in their general direction, Hayato turned to start unpacking their kitchen.

* * *

As the door to the office closed behind them, Tsuna did his utmost to look everywhere but at the man standing in front of him.

Whereas the rest of the house was still full of unpacked boxes, crowded and still quite impersonal, the office was already completely set up, shelves crammed full of various medical textbooks, files spilling across the desk the computer sat on.

The walls were the standard off-white, mostly bare save for a few awards and certificates, and even one picture of the doctor and the scary boy who had answered the door, the one who had kept glaring at Tsuna.

He wanted to reach up and feel his hair again, still marvelling at how light his head felt now that he'd been allowed to chop off all his waist-length locks and refusing to think of how livid his mother would be when he arrived home.

But Reborn's earlier warning was still fresh in his mind, so he fiddled with the hem of his gakuran instead.

"I'm going to need you to take a seat now, young Vongola," the doctor's voice said then, interrupting his inspection of the room he was in, startling him.

Hurrying to do as told, Tsuna lowered himself into one of the chairs at the desk, and finally turned his eyes on the doctor.

He was a relatively young man, his dark brown hair hanging just to his shoulders and his cheeks dark with barely there stubble. His eyes were hooded, almost lazy-looking, but observant, drinking in every detail of a scene in seconds.

Tsuna felt, quite distinctly, like he was on an observation table, and he had to fight not to squirm.

After a few moments of staring, the doctor sighed and leaned back.

"I'll have you know, it's my policy to treat only women," the doctor informed him then.

At those words, Tsuna felt something unpleasant twist in his gut – he'd thought that here at least, with the doctor that Reborn had introduced him to, he would be safe, but evidently he'd been wrong.

He looked down.

The doctor heaved another sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"But I suppose if I were to make an exception for anyone, it would be Vongola's heir."

Tsuna's head snapped up at these words, and he gaped.

The doctor was looking at him with a clinical expression on his face, all stern professionalism.

"From now on, should you ever need medical attention, you are to come to me, and me alone," he informed Tsuna in a severe voice, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "I am unable to start you on your hormone treatment until I have had you as my patient for a bare minimum of three months, but once we do start, it will affect any and all medications prescribed to you in the future. Assuming your tutor will want to keep your…_circumstances_ under wraps until you've better established yourself in your new position, this will also reduce the risk of you being revealed before you are both ready. Civilian doctors, after all, can be bribed."

"And mafia doctors can't?" Tsuna blurted out before he could stop himself.

There was a moment of stunned silence after his words, and Tsuna clapped his hands over his mouth horror welling up within him and wishing he could snatch the words back.

Then suddenly, surprisingly, the doctor let out a bark of laughter, seeming amused, and even Reborn was smiling from where he was sitting cross-legged on the desk.

"There's a reason I chose Shamal as your doctor, Dame-Tsuna," the infant informed him. "He may be a pervert, but he takes his job seriously, and he'd die before he violated a patient's confidentiality...not that anyone would be suicidal enough to threaten him in the first place, given he's one of the most notorious hitmen out there."

"HHIIIIEEE! HE'S A HITMAN?" demanded Tsuna, voice going too high-pitched in his surprise.

Reborn smirked widely.

"And he's unaffiliated," the arcobaleno informed him matter-of-factly. "Might as well take this chance to recruit him into your family, Dame-Tsuna."

"No, no, no, no, no, Reborn!" protested Tsuna, pushing his chair back with a scrape and remembering to pitch his voice lower this time. "I told you, I'm not going to become a mafia boss! And I don't need a hitman doctor to swear his loyalty to me!"

"Oh, but it sounds like it would be such fun," interjected Shamal, his professionalism falling away to be replaced by a teasing smirk.

"You don't encourage him!" Tsuna turned to yell at him, completely forgetting about his own hesitance from moments before.

"Look Dame-Tsuna, he's already agreed," Reborn told his student, a satisfied smirk pulling at his features.

"I SAID I DON'T WANT A HITMAN!" Tsuna yelled.

"Oh, but you already have one," Shamal pointed out. "I don't see what's so bad about one more."

"What?" demanded Tsuna.

"Congratulations on your second family member, Tsunayoshi!" Reborn said, his voice entirely too amused.

"Second?" asked Tsuna, turning to him. "Who's the first?"

"I am, of course."

* * *

SkyGem: That's it for this chapter! Poor Tsuna, everyone's basically ignoring him XD This chapter was shorter than I expected it to be, but I felt like that was the perfect place to end it. I really hope you all enjoyed, and please do leave a review letting me know what you thought! Special thanks to Wyrvel who left me a veritable essay as a review for last chapter with lots of super helpful information! You guys are all super amazing!


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